


Protector

by UniverseInk



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, abuse tags relate to Dick and Slade, full list of tws in notes, more like hes too emotionally constipated to be a good dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniverseInk/pseuds/UniverseInk
Summary: Slade confronts the Bats on a rooftop to discuss business. Something he says to Damian hits a little too close to home for Dick, who would do anything to keep his little brother from going through the same things he didBad Things Happen Bingo: Confrontation
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914772
Comments: 11
Kudos: 335





	Protector

**Author's Note:**

> TWs: References to past child sexual abuse, non-graphic discussions of pedophilia and csa, implied threats toward a minor, dissociation. This has some really heavy themes, please stay safe and take care of yourselves
> 
> This blends comics canon with the Teen Titans cartoon

“I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Dick’s spine goes stiff. Hearing Slade’s voice always sets him on edge, even now. Around him, his family turns to face the man.

“Deathstroke,” Bruce grits out. “What do you want?”

Slade ignores him. “Hello, Robin.”

Damian opens his mouth to retort, but Dick places a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s Nightwing now, but you know that.” He keeps his voice steady, cold as ice.

“True,” Slade admits. “You’ll always be Robin to me, though.”

Nausea rises in Dick’s stomach. “What do you want, _Slade?_ ” he snaps. Jason and Tim both move closer to him. It’s a protective gesture, but right now Dick just feels trapped.

“I have some information that might interest you. I hear you’re dealing with another Arkham breakout.” Slade shifts, as if falling out of his ready stance. Dick knows better than to relax. “Having a bit of trouble locating Two-Face, from the sound of it.”

“What do you know?” Bruce demands. Slade just quirks an eyebrow at him.

“I’m not just going to _tell_ you,” he drawls. “Not without a little something in return.”

“How about in return for not kicking your ass?” Jason snaps. 

Slade plows on. “I need a little help on a job. No killing, nothing your moral codes would prohibit. I was hoping _Robin_ could give me a hand.”

“Why on earth would he do that?” Damian snaps. “He does not work for you!”

“We’ve worked together before,” Slade says casually. “It should be no problem, really. Unless you’d like to volunteer?” 

Panic blooms in Dick’s chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Cass frowning at him. 

“I would never work with you,” Damian hisses. “Nor do I believe that Nightwing would ever stoop to your level.”

“So he never told you, did he?” Slade’s voice drips with smugness. “Your precious _Nightwing_ used to call me _Master_.”

Damian, Jason, and Tim all start yelling at once. In the commotion, no one stops Dick from unclasping one of Jason’s holsters, drawing the gun, and leveling it at Slade’s head.

The rooftop falls silent. 

“ _Leave_ ,” Dick barks.

Slade carefully raises his hands to shoulder height, considering the situation. “Bats don’t kill,” he says. He doesn’t sound entirely sure. That’s his own fault, really.

“I don’t think you want to take that risk.” Dick’s voice is low, threatening. He clicks the safety off. “You’re not a reckless man.”

“That’s true.” Slade backs away to the edge of the rooftop. “You know me _so well_ ,” he purrs, dropping out of sight.

As soon as he’s gone, the world blurs out of focus. Dick can’t hear anything past the rushing in his ears, can’t see through the fog that’s descended over him. Large hands wrap over his, prying the gun from his fingers. 

“He’s gone,” Jason murmurs. 

Dick heaves a shuddering breath and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, the world is back. He’s detached, though, like he’s watching from a few inches behind himself. Everyone else is staring at him with varying degrees of alarm and disbelief. He drops his eyes to the ground. 

“I’m heading back to the cave,” he mutters.

“We need to talk about this,” Bruce says.

Dick nods. “Not here.” Bruce opens his wrist computer to call the Batmobile, but Dick grapples away. He needs some space to clear his head before he has to explain… that. 

Bruce knew about the months Dicks spent in Slade’s captivity. So did the Titans. But there were things Dick had left out. 

He takes the scenic route home, running across rooftops until he feels present in his body again. By the time he gets back to the cave, everyone else has beat him there. They’re all gathered around the Batcomputer, dominos off and cowls down. Dick joins them, discarding his own mask. 

He leans against the edge of a table, bracing his hands on it. He doesn’t say anything. He has no idea where to start.

“So,” Jason breaks the silence. “Are you gonna explain why you lost your shit and pulled a gun on Deathstroke, or do we have to guess?”

“And what did he mean about you working together?” Tim asks.

Dick sighs. “When I was fourteen and leading the Titans, Slade kidnapped me and blackmailed me into becoming his apprentice. He used my team’s lives as bargaining chips, and made me do errands for him. Mostly breaking and entering, stealing things he needed. I never killed, but he wanted me to eventually.” Dick really hopes he can get through this without mentioning the other things Slade forced him to do.

Damian whirls on Bruce. “Did you know about this?” he demands.

“Yes,” Bruce says. “But only after Dick had returned. From the outside it appeared that Dick had flipped sides of his own free will, and his teammates were hesitant to get me involved.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Dick adds. “I had all but cut off contact when I moved into the Tower.”

“That doesn’t explain your reaction today, though.” Bruce crosses his arms. 

Dick looks off to the side, wrapping his arms around his stomach. “It was what he said to Damian,” he admits.

“What, about working for him?” Tim asks. “I really don’t think that was ever going to happen.”

“Logically, I know that. I don’t think Damian would ever join up with Slade.” The thought of it makes his stomach turn. “It just hit a nerve.”

“Protective,” Cass adds.

Dick nods. “Yeah, it’s not exactly a secret that I’m protective of him.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Damian grumbles.

“I know,” Dick ruffles his hair, earning a squawk of indignation. “But as your Batman I'm entitled to be overprotective.”

“You were going to kill Deathstroke over a threat you didn’t even think he’d make good on?” Bruce’s voice is tinged with anger. Dick flinches. 

“It’s more complicated than that.” Dick drops his eyes to the ground. 

“Then explain.” Even without the cowl, Bruce is shifting back into Batman.

Dick swallows. “Damian is almost the same age I was when Slade kidnapped me.”

“Why does that matter?”

Dick scans the room. Bruce is stony-faced, Damian and Tim look confused, Cass is unreadable, and Jason… 

Jason’s eyes are wide, horror written into every line of his face. He knows. 

Dick looks back at Bruce, staring at the bridge of his nose to avoid eye contact. “It _matters_ ,” he says, keeping his voice as steady as he can, “because Slade Wilson is a pedophile.”

Silence grips the cave. Bruce’s eyes widen slightly, which is his version of a shocked and horrified expression. Dick looks away, wrapping his arms even tighter around his midsection. He doesn’t look at his siblings.

It’s Jason who breaks the silence.

“Do you think he’s a legitimate threat to Damian?” he asks, voice shaking with rage. 

Dick runs a hand over his face, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know.” He shakes his head helplessly. “I think it’s more likely he was just trying to get under my skin. But I couldn’t take that risk.”

The cave falls silent again. No one knows what to say. Dick can’t blame them, but he can’t handle waiting for someone else to speak.

“I’m not going to apologize,” he says. “For threatening to kill him.” Dick watches Bruce’s face settle back into Batman, and braces himself.

“Regardless of how despicable someone’s crimes, we aren’t executioners,” he says.

The disapproval hits Dick like a blow to the stomach, but he holds his ground. “This isn’t about justice,” he says. “Or revenge. This is about me protecting my family. Maybe Slade doesn’t deserve to die, but I’m not going to prioritize him over Damian.” Dick takes a deep breath. “There are worse things a person can lose than their life.”

Damian rests a hand gently on his elbow.

Bruce isn’t done yet, though. “If you’re unstable to the point of—”

“Oh fuck you!” Jason snaps, cutting him off. Everyone’s attention turns to him. “For the record, the only reason I’m not about to hunt the bastard down and put a bullet in his head is that I know Dick would find a way to blame himself. But if I find out he’s gone after another kid, he’s dead.”

“Jason—” Bruce tries.

“The Red Hood doesn’t tolerate pedophiles,” Jason growls. “Those are the rules. If you don’t like them you can go fuck yourself.”

Dick squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn’t want to be the reason Jason and Bruce have another fight. He doesn’t want to hear this.

The yelling cuts off abruptly. Dick opens his eyes to see Cass standing between Bruce and Jason, one hand held up in front of each of them.

“Not helping,” she says firmly. Before either of them can respond, she crosses the room. She stops in front of Dick, pulling his arms away from his stomach and wrapping him in a hug. 

Dick hugs back, resting his cheek on her hair. Damian leans into his side, so Dick wraps an arm around him too. Tim says something to Bruce, but Dick tunes them out. By the time he pulls back, Bruce is gone. 

“Come on assholes,” Jason says. “Hit the showers, you smell like shit.” He herds Tim, Cass, and Damian toward the lockers. Damian shoots him a vicious glare, but complies. 

Dick makes to follow them, but Jason catches his shoulder. “Have you ever talked about it?” he asks. 

“No,” Dick says. “Leslie probably guessed, I had to get a full physical after my team got me out. She never said anything, though.”

“You should.”

Dick raises an eyebrow. Jason’s not usually a big advocate for talking about feelings. 

“Look, I know how bad this can mess someone up.” Jason’s face is earnest. “If you don’t talk about it, it just builds up and gets harder to deal with later on.”

“How would you know?” Dick sighs.

Jason fixes him with a serious look.

“Oh.” Dick blinks. “I didn’t realize…”

“Yeah, I know.” Jason says. “I didn’t talk about it until I was with the Outlaws. Bruce might’ve figured it out, but…” he shrugs. 

Dick nods. “Thanks, Jay,” he says. “For having my back.”

Jason huffs a laugh. “That’s what brothers are for, or some shit, right?”

Dick smiles. “Exactly.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr @merc--ury (main) or @transrobins (batfam/dc)
> 
> Please comment or leave a kudos if you liked this


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